English Article

Science Over Smog Towers

Two new smog towers have been recently inaugurated in Delhi. Bengaluru and Chandigarh also installed smog towers this year. Mumbai’s clean air plan indicates a financial requirement of `25 crore for installing air filtration units at major traffic intersections in the city. While these efforts indicate that governments are taking cognisance of air pollution, the deployments are often driven by symbolism rather than science.

                 For example, the Delhi government claims that the newly installed smog tower in Connaught Place could reduce air pollution levels by 80%. But there is no scientific evidence of smog towers or any other outdoor air filtration units improving air quality in cities. The smog tower installed in China’s Xi’an and another one installed in Beijing did not prove to be effective and were not scaled up.